Archive for the ‘Paint’ Category

The custom lettering was applied to the fenders. The entire process is surprisingly simple. The areas to be painted were peeled away from the backing. Next, transfer tape is applied to the front of the stencil. The stencil backing is then peeled away from the stencil. The stencil and transfer tape is then applied to the fender. Finally the transfer tape is removed from the stencil, leaving the area to be painted exposed and ready for paint. I plan on offering the custom lettering stencils for sale on the website soon. Anyone interested in the mean time can comment on this post for more information.

Despite your best efforts to get nice even coats of paint, it’s inevitable to get a run once in a while. This can be easily fixed by lightly sanding the area with a soft sanding pad and some 1500 grit sand paper. In my case, the entire panel required sanding with 1500 grit since I’ll be painting the “Trans Am” lettering on the fender instead of applying a decal over the clear. The clear will be applied over the entire panel, including the lettering.

In addition to the lettering, special graphics were also designed for the Trans Am phoenix. Designs were drawn in AutoCad. The AutoCad files were sent to a local sign shop to be precut on a vinyl plotter.

I found it extremely difficult to find any sign shops interested in cutting these pieces. “Steve’s Signworx” in Lynchburg VA and “K & K Signs” in Bedford VA said they were interested but never returned my calls or email when I said that I was ready to have them cut. “Signs By Tomorrow” in Lynchburg was the only shop that seemed remotely interested in doing the work. These guys were great to work with. The graphic designer went above and beyond to make sure then end product came out right.

A test panel was painted to ensure the colors and lettering looked acceptable. The vinyl stencil was then applied to the test panel. The gold pinstripe that’s typically inside of the feathers in the wings was removed to simplify the design. Black pearl from House of Kolor was sprayed on the inside of the feathers to add some character.

The black pearl sections were re-masked so that the gold portion could be painted.

“Goldmine” from House of Kolor was used for the phoenix and lettering. The design was satisfactory though I’ll likely make a few minor changes when it’s time to paint the real one. The black pearl in the phoenix does not show in the picture and is very subtle in person. The black pearl will likely be replaced with a darker shade of gold. I’ll need to experiment with other types of vinyl as well since this particular low tack vinyl left a large amount of residue behind when portions were removed.

Today the Trans Am doors were painted as another major milestone was met. A little sanding and buffing is still required but the doors look good so far. The past couple of weekends were spent cleaning the garage as much as possible to prevent any dust from settling into the paint. The floor was scrubbed with water. Plastic was stapled to all the walls and ceiling. Thin plastic was draped over tool boxes and tables. Air filters were stapled in place inside a window in the front of the garage and an exhuast fan was placed in the back window to clear out overspray.

Last week the door skins were wet sanded with 500 grit paper. Etching primer was dusted over any bare metal spots. This week the doors were lightly wet sanded with 600 grit to remove any overspray. The doors were then hung from the ceiling ready to paint.

A coat of PPG’s Deltron sealer was applied over the existing primer. After the appropriate flash time, PPG’s Concept black single stage paint was applied over the sealer. Single stage paint normally requires no extra clear coat. The manufacturer recommended mix ratios of hardener and reducer are added to the single stage paint which is then sprayed on your panel to dry, and that’s it. Though dark single stage paints may show swirl marks after buffing. To avoid this, clear coat is added into the paint for the last two coats following the single coat of pure black. Then a final coat of clear alone is applied.